Name Zwaardvis Commissioned 18 August 1972 Fate Planned to be scrapped Launched 2 July 1970 Draft 7.1 m | Laid down 14 July 1966 Decommissioned 1994 Construction started 14 July 1966 Length 67 m Builder Rotterdam | |
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Class and type Zwaardvis-class submarine | ||
HNLMS Zwaardvis (S806) ( [ˈzʋaːrtvɪs]; English: Swordfish) was a Zwaardvis-class submarine of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Ship history
The submarine was ordered 24 December 1965 and laid down on 14 July 1966 at the Rotterdamse Droogdok Mij shipyard in Rotterdam. She was launched on 2 July 1970. 18 August 1972 she was commissioned in the Dutch navy.
From August until September 1977 Zwaardvis, Dolfijn, the tender Mercuur and Onondaga performed torpedo firing exercises off the coast of the United Kingdom. From 2 to 21 July 1978 Zwaardvis, Dolfijn, Zeehond and Potvis practiced firing exercises.
In 1985 the boat made a several visits to Norway and participated in a NATO exercise. This exercise was held in the North Atlantic Ocean. The following year she made visits to Scotland and France. Near Crete an exercise called Fairwind 86 was held where Zwaardvis took part in. In 1986 visits are made to Scotland and Spain. The boat also participates in an exercise in the Strait of Gibraltar.
In 1989 a NATO exercise called North Star was held were the boat participated in. Visits to Scotland and Norway are made in 1991. The boat was decommissioned in 1994. Several countries expressed interest in buying the submarine but eventually no buyer was found and the boat is planned to be scrapped.